The Untamable Garden :: The True Spirit of Freedom

Few things capture the essence of the American spirit better than the principle of freedom and in Anna Wintour's untamable garden there is a sense of wonder and delight that can only be achieved when the heart is allowed to roam. Landscape artist, Miranda Brooks, admits that mystery is her theme and that "it is all emotional." Designed over the past 20 years over a property that stretches for 40 acres, Wintour's garden is a true masterpiece and one that nearly commands guests to unwind, relax, and imagine new possibilities.

It's not about perfection, something that I feel so many of us struggle with. The rows aren't neat and tidy, the door is obscured from view until the last moment, and the gate and trellises hint at the earth from which they came.

We, as Americans, often struggle between the system, the practical and the profitable, and a spirit that aches to be free and unencumbered by the structures we so often build around ourselves.

It is messy, this freedom thing. It doesn't come in a box, it doesn't have a list of directions, and it's risky. Maybe that doesn't scare you, but it does for a lot of us. It's uncontainable and indefinable, always bringing us to the bring of destruction. And yet, here in this beautiful garden, one might catch a glimpse of the indescribable beauty that is obtainable, even if only fleetingly, if we dare to be untamable.

It's so beautiful, isn't it? Would you love an untamable garden? And perhaps a bit of that spirit, too?